Mozambique: Sex workers who broke state of emergency rules repatriated

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Sex workers who broke state of emergency rules repatriated

7:29 CAT | 27 May 2020

Photo: Miramar

Police authorities in Sofala province, central Mozambique, announced on Tuesday in Beira they had repatriated 43 sex workers arrested last Wednesday for violating the rules of the state of emergency.

The group, made up of Zambians and Zimbabweans, was repatriated on Friday, said Fernando Ribeiro, director at the provincial command of the Mozambican police in Sofala, on the sidelines of a meeting of the emergency operating committee on Covid-19 in the province.

In total, in Wednesday’s operation, 109 people, including sex workers, traders and consumers of alcoholic beverages on public roads, were arrested for violating the rules of the state of emergency in the city of Beira.

Of the group, 77 people were sex workers, 43 of them foreigners and the rest Mozambicans.

“We registered the cases of sex workers who gathered in the same place almost every day, we had to round them up,” Fernando Ribeiro said.

Among the sellers of alcoholic beverages were also minors, who should be referred to social assistance.

According to the latest updates, Mozambique has had a total of 209 positive cases of Covid-19, 12 of which are in Sofala province.

With the registration of one death from the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the country has been in a state of emergency since 1 April.

During the state of emergency, entertainment and leisure areas are closed, all kinds of events and gatherings are prohibited, and the population is recommended to stay at home if they have no work or other essential reasons to be out.

During the same period, there are restrictions on the number of people on public transport and they all have to wear masks, schools are closed and the issuing of visas to enter the country is suspended.

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, has said he is considering tougher measures under the state of emergency to prevent Covid-19 if some restrictions remain in place, especially if levels of internal movement remain high.

The latest updates published by the Mozambican police indicated that 899 people had been arrested for the crime of disobedience during the current state of emergency in the country by 7 May.

Worldwide, according to an assessment by the AFP news agency, the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 346,000 lives and infected more than 5.5 million people in 196 countries and territories.